Sinag Pilipinas bet shines in Bolinao Tigasin Triathlon
BOLINAO, Pangasinan: Team Sinag Pilipinas bet John Lester Chicano topped the 2nd edition of Tigasin Tri titled Ang Tagisan ng Tigasin on Saturday at El Pescador Hotel and Resort in Bolinao, Pangasinan.
Chicano registered two hours, 13 minutes and 19 seconds to claim the crown in the men’s Standard 51.5kilometer ( 1.5km swim- 40km bike10km run) distance race.
“Before this day, I conditioned myself that I will win in this tournament, and so I did,” said 24- year old Chicano, a member of the Philippine National Triathlon team, in an interview with The Manila Times.
The native of Subic, Chicano overpowered Unilab Active Health Elite Team’s standout Benjamin Rana Jr ( 2: 14: 21) and another national team member Robinson Estevez ( 2: 14: 27) of Sante Barley Tri Team, who landed second and third, respectively.
“Earlier in the swim course, I got afraid of sea urchins. But, luckily I was able to surpass it and lead on the first two laps. During the bike race, I was trailing behind Robinson and he was the first to enter the run transition,” said Chicano.
He, otherwise, maintained his pacing on the run course and past Robinson to get back the lead in the last four kilometers.
Chicano said he just did what he is doing on the training – the negative splits or act of going in a steady to faster pace.
He added that his P50,000 cash prize will be used to upgrade his gears for future competitions.
Vicky Deldio of Yellow Cab- Tri Clark ( YCTC) team, on the other hand, ruled the women’s side by finishing two hours, 37 minutes and 58 seconds. She bested Mirasol Abad ( 2: 43: 37) of Tigasin Tri Team Northern Cement Corporation (NCC) and elite athlete LC Langit ( 2: 52: 00).
The other winners were Cynthia May Ras of Mayon Tri Team ( 16- 19 years old), Hazzel Mae Cutora of TRIMAC and Mervin Santiago of Sante Barley ( 20- 24), Emmanuel Commendador of Team Podium Botique Hotel Baguio ( PBHB) and Priscilla Ann Reyes od Santw Barley ( 2529), Benjamin Rana and Michelle Vinluan of NCC ( 30- 34), Jefferson Valdez and Rowena Valdez ( 35- 39), Abe Tayag and Katherine Hernandez of Samsung Gear S2 ( 40- 44), Jose Leal and Rowena Roca of TRIMAC ( 45- 49), Raul Manlangit of R Lapid’s Tri Team ( 50- 54) and Doddie Dino of Podium Boutique ( over- 55).
For the sprint category ( 750m- 20km5km), Yellow Cab- Tri Clark bet Rafael Joaquin Tayag grabbed the championship plaque.
Tayag finished in 1: 16: 27 followed by PBHB’s Josh Ramos ( 1: 20: 50) and YCTC’s Nathan Nalo ( 1: 21: 34), respectively.
For the women’s sprint, Veronica Lourds Deldio ( 1: 26: 11) snatched the gold while Maria Laurenciana ( 1: 36: 18) and Lou Ann Ramos ( 1: 41: 26) settled for silver and bronze, respectively.
“We were able to do [ and carried out our plans] accordingly. So far, I would say the event is successful,” Tigasin Tri race director Mikee Chua said.
Chua said the course in Bolinao is really a challenging one - the elevation of race course, inclinations and rolling hills speed down the cyclists.
“Most of the players are first timers in Bolinao,” he said.
Close to 300 participants joined the competition.
Tigasin Triathlon is the first local triathlon event to be held in Bolinao, which aims not only to promote multisport awareness in the province but also to showcase the natural beauty of Pangasinan.